White-Rodgers UP400 Touchscreen 7 Day Programmable Universal Review

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Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program

The video provides a quick overview of the thermostat and steps through some of the menu options.

Overall, I'm very happy with this thermostat. It replaced an older programmable thermostat that came with my house in 2000 and still worked fine, but this one has some nice added features such as a large touchscreen and a reminder to replace my air filter. Although the touch screen only registers a touch at certain locations, it is a nice step up from the small screen on my previous unit. It's really easy to read the screen when the back light is on after you've touched the screen. I also like that its hysteresis (how far away from the set point that it turns on and off) is pretty narrow it doesn't run as long as my older thermostat, and it keeps the temperature in a more comfortable band for me. That was an unexpected and pleasant surprise.

It's not perfect, though. It's a bit difficult for me to read in its normal (no back light) condition, and there's no menu option to change the contrast of the LCD screen (which surprised me). It also, and this is just personal preference on my part, doesn't display the time of day unless you touch the screen. I was used to being able to see the time as I walked by the thermostat in my hallway. Not a big deal, but I wish it showed it.

Pros:

(*) Controls temperature to a narrower band than some other thermostats (smaller hysteresis)

(*) Nice, big screen

(*) Screen is very easy to read when the back light is on

(*) Is easy to mount and is pretty flush against the wall

(*) A number of menu settings that are easy to navigate, including (and one of my favorite features) a reminder for replacing an air filter

Cons:

(*) Screen is fairly dim unless you touch it and have the back light turn on (but it turns off fairly quickly), and there is no menu setting to adjust the LCD contrast

(*) Clock only displays when you press the screen

At its current price of $90, there are a number of options out there to choose from in this price class. While it's not perfect, it is nice and I recommend giving it some consideration as you shop around.

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Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program I was looking to find a new thermostat to replace my old thermostat that came with the house.

I wanted 3 things large display, lighted display, simple. And this fit the bill.

Pro's:

*Large screen

*Simple set up (My Mom was able to use it while house sitting). "1 touch" Settings for away, home, sleep

*Interchangeable faceplate (to match wall plate colors)

-

Con's:

-Touch screen is not as responsive as a smart phone (its only really active on the outer edges)

4/5 stars

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This is a great improvement over old, simple thermostats.

It has a large screen that lights up once you touch it...even though it sometimes takes several touches in the right areas for it to come to life. So here are some details for you to be able to make a decision to buy or to pass.

Pro's:

Nice large screen

Very easy to set up

interchangeable color borders (inserts to match the color of your wallYellow, gold/light brown, light grey, white and transparent)

31 touch favorite settings (Away, Home, Sleep)

Nice large numbers (large digital buttons)

simple to operate

Lots of installation options and works with a lot of different systems (however mine is pretty straightforward so I have not tested this).

Con's:

-Only one, the touchscreen is only activate around the edges, if you press the middle where the readings show up it won't activate (therefore the 4 stars).

So far it's temperature sensitivity and readings have been pretty accurate. It's very easy to change and adjust settings on the fly...now it's not a Nest but really a top of the line Thermostat, definitely a BUY.

Honest reviews on White-Rodgers UP400 Touchscreen 7 Day Programmable Universal

Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program I had never installed a thermostat before but had been reassured by many that the industry has reformed itself over the last decade and home installation is pretty easy. We have a one year old condo this unit is going in and I was able to remove the old thermostat and install the new one in less then an hour which is way quicker then I thought it would take me.

We don't have AC, just a fan and heat and everything seems to be working fine. The programming is easy and in general the interface was intuitive.

The only reason I don't give this five stars is thats it's a bit of an eyesore. Obviously the NEST is the aesthetic champion at twice the price (but also with more features) but perhaps White Rodgers can make this a little more stylized as its very prominent in our living room. I wished it didn't look like it belonged in a dentists office.

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Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program I approached installing the thermostat with some trepidation, I'd never done something like this before. Reading the reviews made me feel a little more confidence ("if they can do it!") so I dove in, and by dove in, I mean I read the manual then read it again and then once more for good measure. From what I was reading, it seemed like it would be an easy installation.

In fact, as it turned out, extricating the thermostat from its Fort Knox was the hardest part of the entire endeavor. Being careful to label the wires out of the wall according to the tremendously helpful diagrams, I was soon pushing them into the contact receptacles. In all, it took me less than 15 minutes to remove the old thermostat and put the new one in.

The second-most difficult part of this adventure was the programming itself. At first, the manual instructs you to keep things as they are, default out of the box and to attempt actual programming later. After some brainwork, I was able to decide what temperature settings I would be using. I wager that without the manual, you'd have little chance of success since there were some settings identified only as "3" and no titles.

Once the temperature settings were sorted, actually programming the thermostat was quite easy. In the few days beforehand, we would manually set the temperature on the touch-screen and either "permanent hold" it (with useful buttons labeled clearly) at that temperature or "temporary hold" until the next temperature switchover time. Nifty. Each button press is accompanied by a satisfying and confirmatory beep. After a while, the neon green backlighting turns off leaving a washed-out grayish background which is very difficult to see in dim lighting. The way to turn it back on is to find and press an "active" key (like the temperature setting button). This is almost impossible to do when it's dark.

Anyway, since programming was completed a few weeks ago, it's been set-it-and-forget-it. With this thermostat from the Alpha Centauri(!), it is possible to set it on either the cool or heat settings or have the thermostat automatically switch between them. That last setting has been extraordinary. No longer do I need to come home and immediately rush to the thermostat to start the heat cycle this winter.

Apart from the non-existent backlighting that forces you to hunt and peck on the screen to turn it on in the dim, this is an excellent piece of hardware and I wonder why I didn't get one before now. 5 stars!